Researchers have discovered that good fathers make for healthier kids - at least among marmosets.

A new study found that fathers in colonies of the common marmoset, a small primate found in Central and South America, split child care duties with their mates - but some marmoset fathers are more attentive than others.

Offspring of the responsive fathers were far more likely to survive their first 30 days and gain more weight after weaning from their mother's milk.

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Fathers in colonies of the common marmoset, a small New World primate, split child care duties with their mates, but not all marmoset dads are equally fatherly

WHAT THEY FOUND

A study, published in the journal PLOS ONE and conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, involved sorting two dozen marmoset fathers by playing them recordings of infant marmoset distress calls.

The researchers found that 60 per cent of the fathers responded to the calls by searching for their source.

Babies of the responsive fathers were far more likely to survive their first 30 days.

87 per cent of the infants born to responsive fathers survived, compared to 45 per cent of the offspring of fathers who didn't respond to the recorded distress calls.

At around six to 12 weeks-old, young marmosets born to the more attentive dads began gaining weight faster than the offspring born to the inattentive fathers.

This is the time at which marmosets begin weaning off their mother's milk, and marmoset fathers take an active role in moving babies from milk to solid food.

The researchers also found that the responsive marmoset dads experience a boost of testosterone when they look for their crying baby after hearing the recording.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE and conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, involved sorting 24 marmoset fathers by playing them recordings of infant marmoset distress calls.

The researchers found that 60 per cent of the fathers responded to the calls by searching for their source.

'These are the fathers that are really motivated to take care of their offspring’s essential needs early on,' says Dr Toni Ziegler, a researcher at the Wisconsin National Primate Researcher Center.

'And that shows in the step up the infants get.'

Babies of the responsive fathers were far more likely to survive their first 30 days.

87 per cent of the infants born to responsive fathers survived, compared to 45 per cent of the offspring of fathers who didn't respond to the recorded distress calls.

At around six to 12 weeks-old, young marmosets born to the more attentive dads began gaining weight faster than the offspring born to the inattentive fathers.

This is the time at which marmosets begin weaning off their mother's milk, and marmoset fathers take an active role in moving babies from milk to solid food.

'They do these little food calls, and encourage the offspring to come over and taste the food they have, says Dr Ziegler.

'The fathers are the first and most into that.

'It’s likely the really interactive fathers are spending more effort to get the young to the food and make this transition work.

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Taking a more active role in parenting and giving mothers a break is also beneficial for fathers too.

'If you’re getting help managing this big, energetic load from someone who is willing to help carry this extra weight, that allows you to have a postpartum ovulation pretty quick,' Dr Ziegler says.

'It’s to your advantage to be there helping with the child care, so that you will also be right there to help conceive the next set.'

The researchers also found that the responsive marmoset dads experience a boost of testosterone when they look for their crying baby after hearing the recording.

'The same testosterone response has been seen in human fathers to infant cries,' Dr Ziegler said.

'It’s vigilance.

'You’ve got to leap into action to defend that baby.'

The researchers also found that the responsive marmoset dads experience a boost of testosterone when they look for their crying baby after hearing the recording. The same testosterone response is seen in human fathers

Most research on the effect of fathers on human babies tends to explore their absence, rather than relative differences in the quality of fathering.

But Dr Ziegler says she expects that better human dads have similar good effects on their kids, and she wonders whether - for both marmosets and humans - if good fathers make offspring who grow up to become good parents themselves.